Wire-block stripper



Feb. 27, 1945.

w. MORGAN ET AL 2,370,482

WIRE BLOCK STRIPPER Filed 001;. 7, 1942 3 Sheets-Sheet l WELD MORGANCLARKE D. WESSON Feb. 27, 1945. w. MORGAN ET AL 2,370,482

WIRE BLOCK STRIPPER Filed Oct. 7, 19 12 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 WELD M0112 canCLARKE D. WESSON.

Feb. 27, 1945. w. MORGAN ET AL WIRE BLOCK S'I'RIPPER Filed 001;. 7, 19423 Sheets-Sheet 3 Eli? H gwoe/wbou VVELD M05051 CLARKE A, 'WessozvPatented Feb. 27, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT, OFFICE Weld Morgan andClarke D. Wesson, Worcester,

Mass.,assignors to Morgan- Construction Company, Worcester, Mass, acorporation of Massachusetts Application October 7, 1942; Serial No.461.212

4 Claims.

invention relates to wire block strippers, and'more particularly tostrippers or the collapsible type so arranged that the wire bundle can breadily dropped therefromupon a truck or other place of deposit.

[Strippers of this type as heretofore constructed have included amanually releasable latch to hold the bundle-supporting leg in theirexpanded positions. Thewire bundles are heavy, and upon release of the:latch the weight of the bundle causes the legs to drop very suddenly,carrying the latch audits handle with them. Since the operator isgrasping the handle at the moment of release, he is subjected to a veryunpleasant and dangerous jerk. Other difiiculties are e'ncountered inthese prior strippers resulting from lack of suflicient rigidity, andfailure of the various parts to remain in proper alignment. v

It is accordingly one object of the invention to provide a collapsiblestripper which will be safe and convenient for the operator.

, It is a further object of the invention to provide a collapsiblestripper which will remain in proper operating condition-throughoutalong life of service. i With these and otherobjects in view, as will beapparent to those skilled in the art, the invention resides in thecombination of parts set forth in the specification and covered by theclaims appended hereto.

Referring to the drawings illustrating one einbodirne'nt of theinvention and in which like reference numerals indicate like parts,

Fig.1 is am elevation ot a collapsible stripper in its expandedcondition;

. Fig. 2 is an elevation of the stripper in its collapsed condition;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary elevation taken in the direction of the :arrow 3in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a section on the line 66 of Fig. 4;

Fig. '7 isa section on the line 1-1 of Fig. 4; and

Fig. 8 is a section on the line 8-8 of Fig. 5.

The embodiment illustrated comprises a cylindrical head or block Inhaving an upwardly projecting eye portion I I adapted to fit over thesuspended hook (not shown) of a crane or other lifting apparatus. Avertical cylindrical rod [2 is screw-threaded at its upper end into thehead l and depends therefrom, a set-screw [3 being provided to securethe rod in place. 'Upon this rod there is slidably mounted a flatcircliilar hub l4 having rfour horizontal arms l5 radiating therefrom.The hub I4 i reenforced by means of ribs I6 '(Fig. 4) on its lowersurface. The arms I5" taper outwardly from the hub, and as best shown inFig. '7 they'are of inverted V form. in crosssection. On the outer endsof the arms it: there are provided forks [8 arranged to receive theupper ends of upright L-shaped legs [9 of rectangular' cross-section,which are pivotally connected to the forks by meanS of pins 20. Theseforks-"l8 are considerably wider in the vertical direction than the armsl5, and the forks fit the sides of the legs l9 closely, so that the legsare accurately guided and can move only in radial I planes.

1, the pins and 32 will all lie in a common The vertical-movements ofthe hub I4 relative to the rod I2 are utilized to swing the legs i9about the pivot pins 20. For this purpose a spider 22 is mounted on thelower end of the rod and held in place by means of a nut 23. and a setscrew 24. This spider is provided with four radially extending forks 26each of which receives the head of an eye bolt 28. The heads 21 areconnected to the forks 26 by means Olf pivot pins 30. Each bolt 28 isthreaded into a U-shaped clevis 3| which straddles the correspondinglegl9 and isconnected thereto by a pivot, pin 32. The bolts 28 are providedwith lock nuts 33 which can betightened against the clevises. 'It willbe apparent that each bolt 28 and its clevis 3! form a link which canreadily be adjusted in length.

With the stripper fully expanded asshown in horizontal plane. Thestripper may be maintained in this condition by preventing relativesliding movement of the rod l2 and. the hub 14. For this purpose the rodis grooved circumferentially to receive a snap ring 35 which is arrangedto engage the top of the hub when the stripper is expanded, therebypreventing the rod from dropping far enough to bring the pins 30 lowerthan the pins 32. Upward movement of the rod relative to, the hub isprevented by means of a manually releasable latch comprising a pair ofhooks 31located on opposite sides or the rod and pivotally connected attheir upper ends to the head In by means of a pin 38. This pin may beheld in place by the upper end of the rod l2. The rear portions of thesehooks 31 are joined bya bar or cross piece 39 from the center of which ahandle 40 projects rearwardly. By engaging the rod l2,

the cross piece 39 prevents the hooks 31 from swinging forwardly underthe influence of the weight of the handle 40 when the stripper iscolshown in Fig. 6.

' parent from the above disclosure.

wire will be formed upon the finishing block of a wire-drawing machine,this block preferably hav ing radial lots for the reception of thestripper .legs l9, one suitable construction being disclosed in thepatent to Morgan et al. No. 2,247,248,

granted June 24, 1941. Upon completion of the bundle a crane will lowerthe stripper in its collapsed condition into the interior of theb-undle,

the stripper legs 19 entering the slots in the block and spreadingoutwardly to engage the bundle, while the rod l2 slides downwardlythrough the hub 14 until the ring 35 strikes the top of the hub. Duringthis movement the cam surfaces 45 of the hooks 3'! will engage the lugs'43 and cause the hooks. to swing rearwardly until the stripper has beenfully expanded, whereupon the weight of the handle 40 will swing thehooks forwardly again beneath the lugs to prevent collapse of thestripper. The stripper, with the bundle thereon, will now be lifted fromthe block by means of the crane and transported to aplace of deposit.The operator will then lift the handle Mland swing the hooks 3Trearwardlyout of engagement with the lugs 43, allowingthe head. [4 todrop. The links 283| will swing the legs i9 inwardly to releasethe'bundle and allow it to fall from the stripper. Since the handle 40does not drop with the head 14, the: operator will not be subjected toany sudden jerk when the latch is released. The arms I5, with theirnovel inverted V cross-section, are peculiarl adapted to withstand theheavy loads resulting from the weight of the wire bundles. ened forks l8hold the legs 19 in proper alignment and restrict their movements toradial planes.

' Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desireto secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A collapsible wire block stripper comprising ahead adapted to besuspended from its upper end, a vertical rod depending from the head, ahub vertically slidable on the rod and provided with radially extendingarms, legs depending from the arms, a spider on the lower endzof the Thevertically widrod, links connecting the spider with the legs, a pairoflugs on the hub at opposite sides of the rod, two hooks pivotallysecured to opposite sides of the head and depending therefrom to engagethe lugs and prevent the hub from slidingdownwardly to collapse thestripper, a bar connecting the hooks at the rear side of the rod, and ahanclle projecting rearwardly from the harm release the'hooks, theWeight of the handle tending to swing the hooks forwardly, and the barbeing so located as to limit this forward swinging by en- 7 gaging therod, when the stripper is collapsed, to

" position the hooks properly for automatic engagement with the lugs asthe stripper is ex- T panded again.

from thearms, a spider on the lower end of the rod, links connecting thespider with the legs, the hub having two slots therein on opposite sidesof the rod, a lugbridging each slot, two hooks pivotally secured toopposite sides of the head and depending. therefrom into the slots toengage the lugs and prevent the hub from sliding downwardly to collapsethe stripper, and a handle connected to the hooks to release the same.

3. A collapsible wir block stripper comprising an upright elementadapted to be suspended from its upper end, a hub vertically slidable onsaid element and provided with radially extending arms of inverted Vform in cross-section, legs depending from the outer ends of the arms, a

spider on the lower end of the rod, links connecting the spider with thelegs, and a manually releasable latch arranged to prevent the hub fromsliding downwardly to collapse the stripper.

4. A collapsible wire block stripper comprising an upright elementadapted to be suspended from its upper end, a hub vertically slidable onsaid element and provided with radially extending arms, legsdependingirom the arms, a spider on the lower end of the rod andprovided with radially extending forks, a U-shaped clevis straddlingeach leg and pivotally connected thereto, an. eye bolt threaded intoeach clevis, each eye bolt having a head located within one of v theforks and pivotally connectedthereto, and

a manually releasable latch arranged to prevent the hubfrom slidingdownwardly to collapse the stripper. WELD MogGAN.

CLARKE D WESSON.

